SportsNet - September 2012

They have begun the season 0-4 and are currently enduring a nine-game losing streak, but the Cleveland Browns can still turn the corner in the 2012 NFL season.

That's because they have a solid, young core in place that for once, actually promises a bright future for their long-suffering and extremely loyal fans. The Browns travelled to Baltimore and ran the Raven close with a rookie quarterback, rookie running back, rookie right tackle and two first-year wide receivers.

On defense a second-year corner didn't look out of place, nor did a youthful linebacker who continues to make plays. The point is that while results have not gone their way, the Browns have still managed to lay the foundation for a turnaround.

This is no deceptive structure either. It's not like the false dawns the team experienced when Kelly Holcomb tooke them to the playoffs, or when Derek Anderson managed 10 wins.

Instead this is a Browns team with real promise at the skill positions and with a defense built to last. Quarterback Brandon Weeden is still raw, but he has recovered from his nightmare Week 1 performance, to prove he can succeed at the pro level.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has an incredible hunger, an ambition to succeed, an aspiration to make his club the best, most feared, most attractive club in the world and this season sees the beginning of the transition.

This summer he has spent out on some of the most exciting creative players around, spelling out his ambitions once more. Sources say that Abramovich wants his Chelsea team to play in the same style as Barcelona, also known as 'The Spanish Way'.

Both Barcelona and Spain play what most pundits have described as 'tippy tappy football'. It's basically a formula used in training to create a team who keep the ball, pass the ball, move it at pace and are incredibly comfortable passing it around tight areas. It creates an attacking force that is both intimidating and wears down the opponent.

I’d take up space talking about what the refs gained in negotiations, but the bottom line is not one person reading this cares. We only care that they are back and most importantly, our fantasy teams will no longer be affected.

I’m just glad that as soon as the strike ended in the wee hours of the night Wednesday, Thursday night’s crew reported for work. It’s not like they had made other plans.

The real refs might be back, but no doubt there will still be missed calls. The difference is they’ll be judgment calls, not discrepancies and five-minute huddles about technical rules straight out of a book.

My last word on the officials: Hopefully somewhere in the new contract is a rule that if you can’t beat me in a 50-yard dash, you can’t be an NFL ref.

-- The sports world summed up in a few tweets …

I guess head coaches do matter. #Saints #Arkansas

Happiest guy in the league is #Cardinals Kevin Kolb. #inyourfacePhilly

If you can remember that far back, take your mind back to 1997. Ask yourself if any of these names stand out prior that era in Liverpool FC history – Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, Steve Mcmanaman, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard. In 1997, Roy Evans was the reds manager, with the majority of these boys either just making their way into the first team or starting to show some progress in the reserves, as they were called it in those days. Had these boys not being given their chance, allowed to make mistakes and progressed under the tutorledge of Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier, Liverpool might just not have won their fifth European Cup in 2005.

If the Phillies and their let-the-good-times-roll faithful merely feel the 2012 season was a blip on their self-believed NL dominance screen, it would behoove all in attendance and beyond to look very closely at Thursday’s home finale at Citizens Bank Park.

Ironic, isn’t it, that as the Phillies’ dynastic delusions sink slowly into the abyss this fall, they get to watch a former farmhand who was cast aside and deemed “not worthy” of dressing out in their red pinstripes put the screws to them at Citizens Bank Park.

Oh, the left-hander wasn’t dominant in this one. Nah, instead he teased a bit. Gave his former club a ray of hope for a few innings, before shutting the door and letting his offense take over in a 7-3 Nationals victory.

The effort left him standing with a major-league best 21 wins. He also possesses a 2.93 ERA, and if not for R.A. Dickey’s knuckle-balling success with the Mets would be a shoo-in for the Cy Young.